Endurance Test: Blue Spruce Marking Knife

When people ask for my recommendation on almost any kind of tool, I attempt to give them several choices: I’ll recommend Tool A if you’re this kind of woodworker; Tool B if you’re another kind of woodworker.

However, this is not the case when it comes to marking knives. I have only one recommendation: Buy a marking knife from Blue Spruce Toolworks of Oregon City, Ore.

In the last decade I have used more than a dozen different marking knives from all over the globe – some antique, some newly manufactured, some shop-made. After I sharpen them and force myself to use them for a month or so, I put them in the top left drawer of my tool cabinet with all my other marking knives.

My fingers always go back to pick up the Blue Spruce for my day-to-day work. It’s not just because it’s an attractive and shiny tool (though it has good looks in spades), it’s because it is perfectly suited to so many tasks, is well-balanced and well-made by hand. It is the embodiment of what I try to achieve when I build a piece of furniture.